Hope--Inner and Outer

It could not have been better timed if it had been scripted. I was wrestling with a mega-deadline and my energy has been somewhat depleted. I could not find high gear. I was trying to pretend that I was in any gear at all by making the equivalent of putt putt noises to myself. Puttering with this project and that one and putting in a load of laundry when I should have been writing. And on one of those perambulations away from the keyboard, I heard the postie slide the mail through the letter box. Of course I had to go see.



Serendipity prevailed, as she so often does for me. There were two non-bill kinds of envelopes. The first was from a friend who had wrestled through her own deadline and gave me a bit of encouragement, including a recipe for "maakin flooers". Much needed; much appreciated. I smiled and felt a little warmth coming back into my imagination.



The next envelope was from a new friend--a friend of a friend--I have not met her in person yet, but we have shared much via email so I looked forward to whatever was in the envelope. The front of the card is a photo of a standard British road sign. Straightforward, no nonsense, black letters on white background. "Outer Hope, " with an arrow pointing straight up; "Inner Hope" an arrow pointing left, or inward. I laughed out loud. The cats came to see what was so funny, but since they can't read, it was hard to explain.

With a good laugh, a recipe for flowers, and a metaphor to steer by, I was back at it. The application went in with 20 minutes to spare.


OK, for those of you wondering--according to the back of the card, "hope" is derived from Old English hop for a small cove. Other village names can be found on http://www.lesserspotted.com/